Coronavirus crash wipes $5TRILLION off world stocks in the worst week since 2008 financial crisis – The Sun
CORONAVIRUS has wiped $5 trillion off world stocks in the worst week for global markets since the 2008 financial crisis
Stock markets in Asia and Europe plummeted further today as investors fear the pandemic will spark a global economic downturn.
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European markets fell sharply, with London's FTSE Index plunging by more than 3% just after opening.
Asian markets also saw big falls, with Japan's Nikkei slumping 3.7% and MSCI, the regional index excluding Japan, falling 2.6%.
Meanwhile, shares in the CSI300 index of Shanghai and Shenzen in China dropped 3.5%, with a weekly loss of 5%.
The recent figures come after a dark day on Wall Street yesterday, as the NASDAQ dropped 4.6 percent while the S&P 500 closed below 3,000 for the first time since last October, according to CNBC.
Experts warned the worst could be still to come as the reality of the coronavirus spread kicks in across equity markets.
"A global recession is likely if COVID-19 becomes a pandemic, and the odds of that are uncomfortably high and rising with infections surging in Italy and Korea," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.
The market plunges will most likely weaken Americans' confidence in the US economy, even among those who don't own stocks.
Wall Street suffered its worst two-day losing streak in two years on Wednesday as markets in France and Germany fell as much as 2 per cent amid the fallout over the worldwide outbreak.
German health minister Jens Spahn said the country is "at the beginning of coronavirus epidemic" as the disease has now spread to every continent except Antartica.
So far, there have been 82,000 documented cases worldwide, with at least 2,801 deaths.
Major firms including Apple, Microsoft, and Mastercard are now expecting revenues to be lower than forecast because of supply chain disruptions caused by the virus.
The number of new daily infections outside China, where the outbreak began, now surpasses those within it, dampening hopes that the virus could be contained and economic damage minimised.
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